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Birch bark tar (sometimes referred to as birch bark pitch) is a substance that is synthesized by dry distillation of birch tree bark.
Birch bark tar also has been used as a disinfectant, in leather dressing, and in medicine.
A piece of 5,000-year-old chewing gum made from birch bark tar, and still bearing tooth imprints, was found in Kierikki, Finland. Genetic material left in the gum enabled novel research to identify population movements, types of food consumed, and types of oral bacteria found on their teeth. Ancient gum DNA, Science, The New York Times, December 17, 2019
A different chewing gum sample, dated to 5,700 years old, was found in southern Denmark. A complete human genome and oral microbiome was sequenced from chewed birch bark tar. Researchers identified that the individual who chewed the gum was a female who was closely related genetically to from mainland Europe.
Fletching on were fastened with birch bark tar, and rawhide lashing and birch bark tar were used to fix axe blades in the Mesolithic period.
Birch bark tar was more frequently discovered in archaeological contexts dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. For example, birch bark tar was identified to serve as an adhesive to repairBosquet, D., Regert, M., DUBOIS, N., Jadin, I., 2001. Identification de brai de bouleau sur quatre vases du site rubané de Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher «Podrî l’Cortri». Premiers résultats.Urem-Kotsou, D., Mitkidou, S., Dimitrakoudi, E., Kokkinos, N., Ntinou, M., 2018. Following their tears: Production and use of plant exudates in the Neolithic of North Aegean and the Balkans. Quaternary International. 496, 68–79.Urem-Kotsou, D., Stern, B., Heron, C., Kotsakis, K., 2002. Birch-bark tar at Neolithic Makriyalos, Greece. Antiquity. 76, 962–967.Rageot, M., Lepère, C., Henry, A., Binder, D., Davtian, G., Filippi, J.-J., Fernandez, X., Guilaine, J., Jallet, F., Radi, G., Thirault, E., Terradas, X., Regert, M., 2021. Management systems of adhesive materials throughout the Neolithic in the North-West Mediterranean. Journal of Archaeological Science. 126, 105309. and decorate/paint ceramic vessels,Morandi, L.F., Porta, S.N., Ribechini, E., 2018. Evidence for Birch Bark Tar Use as an Adhesive and Decorative Element in Early Iron Age Central Italy: Technological and Socio-Economic Implications. Archaeometry. 60, 1077–1087. as a sealing/waterproofing agent.Hayek, E.W.H., Krenmayr, P., Lohninger, H., 1990. Identification of Archaeological and Recent Wood Tar Pitches Using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry and Pattern Recognition. Regert, M., Vacher, S., Moulherat, C., Decavallas, O., 2003. Adhesive Production and Pottery Function During the Iron Age at the Site of Grand Aunay (Sarthe, France)*. Archaeometry. 45, 101–120. A well-known example of birch bark tar hafting during the copper age is Ötzi’s hafted arrow points and copper axe.Sauter, F., Ulrich, J., Graf, A., Werther, W., Varmuza, K., 2000. Studies in organic archaeometry I: identification of the prehistoric adhesive used by "Tyrolean Icemen" to fix his weapons. Arkivoc. V, 735–747. Multiple discoveries show that birch bark tar was also used to assemble metal artefacts, such as pendants and other ornaments, on both a functional and decorative level.Regert, M., Rolando, C., 2002. Identification of Archaeological Adhesives Using Direct Inlet Electron Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Analytical chemistry. 74, 965–75.Courel, B., Schaeffer, P., Féliu, C., Thomas, Y., Adam, P., 2018. Birch bark tar and jewellery: The case study of a necklace from the Iron Age (Eckwersheim, NE France). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 20, 72–79. During the Roman Era, birch bark tar is mostly replaced by wood tar,Balsan, L., 1951. L’industrie de la résine dans les Causses et son extension dans l’empire romain. Gallia. 9, 53–55.Trintignac, A., 2003. La production de poix dans la cité des gabales (Lozère) à l’époque gallo-romaine. RAP. n°1/2, 239–248. but birch bark tar is still used, for example, to decorate hinges and other bone objects.Regert, M., Rodet-Belarbi, I., Mazuy, A., Dantec, G., Dessì, R.M., Henry, A., Rageot, M., Briz, S., 2019. Birch bark tar in the Roman world: the persistence of an ancient craft tradition. Antiquity. 93.
Russia leather is a water-resistant leather, oiled with birch bark oil after tanning. This leather was a major export good from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Russia, as the availability of birch bark oil limited its geographical production. The oil impregnation also deterred insect attack and gave a distinctive and pleasant aroma that was seen as a mark of quality in leather.
Birch bark tar is also one of the components of Vishnevsky liniment.
Birch bark tar oil is an effective Animal repellent of . The repellent effect lasts about two weeks. The repellent effect of birch bark tar oil mixed with petroleum jelly and applied to a fence can last up to several months.
Birch bark tar oil has strong antiseptic properties,Wanamaker, L, "Birch Tar Oil A Powerful Antiseptic", OtzisPouch, 2020-04-01 owing to a large amount of phenol derivatives and terpenoid derivatives.
Birch bark tar oil was used in the eighteenth century alongside civet and castoreum and many other aromatic substances to scent the fine Spanish leather Peau d'Espagne. At the turn of the twentieth century, birch bark tar had become a specialty fragrance material in perfumery as a base note to impart a leathery, smoky note in fragrances, especially from the leather and tobacco genre, and to a lesser extent in Chypres, especially Cuir de Russie perfumes and fragrance bases, typically together with castoreum and isobutyl quinoline. It is used as an ingredient in some soaps, i.e. the scent of Imperial Leather soap, though other tars (i.e. from pine, coal) with an equally Phenolic acid and smoky odour are more commonly used in soaps as a medicating agent.
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